


shut out the world

by Trillian_Astra



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Comfort, Comfort No Hurt, M/M, Secret Relationship, oblique spoilers for s15 ep11, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1424194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trillian_Astra/pseuds/Trillian_Astra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-episode for "Amaro's One-Eighty".</p><p>Nick and Rafael have been secretly in a relationship, and when Nick needs comforting after the events of the episode, Rafael is the person he goes to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	shut out the world

Nick pressed the intercom button outside Rafael Barba’s apartment building and waited.

“Yes?” Barba’s voice was crackly through the intercom.

“It’s me,” Nick blurted out, “can I come up?”

He heard a buzz as the door clicked open, and hurried towards the elevators. Rafael was waiting for him in the open doorway of the apartment when he got there.

“I couldn’t be there,” he said.

Nick nodded. “The DA. I get that, I just… there’s no-one at home, and I needed someone.”

Rafael smiled. “Get inside.” He studied Nick’s face for a moment, and added, “Would it be insensitive of me to offer you a drink?”

Nick almost laughed. “Coffee, maybe?” he said as he walked in and sat down on the couch.

“I’ll put on a fresh pot.”

He looked around at Rafael’s living room, the overflowing bookshelves, the expensive couch and armchairs, the art on the walls, and leant back against the couch cushions, closing his eyes.

“You must be tired.”

His eyes jolted open and he panicked for a moment, before he saw Rafael standing there, holding out a mug of coffee to him. He took it gratefully and nodded. “Feels like I haven’t slept right for a week.”

“It’s stressful. You’re allowed to feel that.” Rafael sat down next to him. “I wish I’d been there. I could have watched, at least.”

“The squad was there for moral support. And they don’t know about us, remember?”

“Mmm.”

“I can’t tell them, Raf.”

“I know. I just don’t like having to pretend.”

Nick reached across and clasped Rafael’s hand. “Me neither. Can we not talk about work? I just wanna forget that there’s anything outside of this place.”

“No argument here,” Rafael said, pressing a soft kiss to Nick’s temple.

Nick drank some of his coffee. “You know, if I didn’t know better I’d say this was the apartment of some rich lawyer…”

“And you do know better?”

Nick grinned. “Furniture’s expensive, but it’s not new. You serve coffee in mugs. And I see that old guitar in the corner.”

Rafael smiled into his coffee. “So, Detective, what would you conclude about the occupier of this apartment?”

“He’s careful with money… repairs things rather than buying new. He didn’t have money growing up in the barrio. But then he worked hard and went to Harvard and got the kind of job where people expect him to live in a place like this. So he does, even if he can’t hide where he came from completely.” He took another sip of coffee. “How’d I do?”

“Not bad. He’s not trying to hide, though, you were wrong about that.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “I’ve seen your ties, man. No-one dresses like that unless they’re trying to deflect from something.”

Rafael pretended to pout. “You don’t like how I dress?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t think I look good?”

“I _definitely_ didn’t say that. You look good.”

“Thank you.”

Nick pulled him closer, gave him a kiss flavoured with coffee, and murmured in his ear, “…doesn’t mean those clothes wouldn’t look better on the floor, though.”

“Promises, promises,” Rafael muttered, before Nick silenced him with another kiss.


End file.
